


Books Are My Besties

by yourdykeinshiningarmor



Series: Sherlock Rare Pair Bingo Prompts [2]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Professions, Alternate Universe, F/M, John is a book publisher, Molly owns a bookstore, Rare Ship Bingo, Sherlock Rare Pair Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 13:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3898015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourdykeinshiningarmor/pseuds/yourdykeinshiningarmor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Molly is still a bit star-struck by the new frequent visitor to her tiny bookstore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Books Are My Besties

**Author's Note:**

> My Sherlock Rare Pair Bingo fill for the prompt "Alternate Professions." Got this idea where all hopefully good ideas come from... while taking a shower this morning.

Molly’s gaze was locked on her computer screen. It was the first of the month and one of her favorite authors, books-are-my-besties, had posted his monthly ficlet collection to the Archive; she was eagerly scrolling through it looking for stories that interested her and adding them to her ever-growing ‘Marked for Later’ list. Even with the scarce amount of free time she had, she still made sure to enjoy the work of others.

Every few minutes her eyes would flick up to the man at the back of the store. _The_ John Watson was perusing the shelves of her tiny used bookstore for the fifth time in the last three weeks. This was the same John Watson of Watson Publishing, the firm that she had considering sending her first nearly complete novel to for publishing. She had felt mildly ashamed when she had googled him after he left the first time just to be sure that it _really_ was him; it was.

The soft sound of paperbacks hitting the counter brought her out of her thoughts. Hastily, she moved her laptop to the side so she could ring him up.

“Sorry,” she mumbled sheepishly. “Did you find everything you were looking for?”

John nodded, a small smile on his face, “Yeah, I think I have.”

Molly returned the smile as she keyed in the prices. He had seven books this time, same as the other times, all from different genres and time periods. She didn't know if he actually read all the books he purchased, but he certainly had a wide and varied taste in what he bought.

“Do you read or write?” John asked, pulling Molly out of her thoughts again.

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him quizzically.

John tipped his head and flicked his eyes toward her laptop.

Molly glanced over and saw the AO3 logo was clearly visible in the corner of the screen. She didn't know whether she should be impressed or mortified that someone like John Watson would know about the Archive. She did her best to keep her fanfiction and original novel writing personas separate; few people in her life that she hadn’t met through fanfiction writing groups even knew she wrote it. While she immensely enjoyed to the freedom to write about any topic within the fandom world, many didn’t understand the pull of fanfiction and the joy it gave her and others like her, both as a reader and writer, and she kept it well hidden. Now the owner of one of the best local publishers knew her face and that she was interested in fanfiction. Something in her gut told her, though, that John Watson wasn’t one of the fanfic haters that she sometimes encountered in her “real” writing forums.

“Bit of both,” she answered hesitantly.

He nodded. “I remember what it was like trying to get fanfiction in the days before the internet.” He looked distant for a moment. “Got into it with Star Trek, but now I enjoy many different fandoms. I’m glad there’s a place like AO3 or FF dot net that people can post their works to and enjoy ones put up by others.”

Molly nodded, not really sure how to respond. She was honestly blown away that he not only approved of fanfiction, but was an avid fan of fandom in general. She remembered that she was supposed to be ringing him out and shook her head slightly, grabbing a small bag from under the counter before giving him his total.

John handed her the notes and took his bag, already turning to head towards the door. “As always, Ms. Hooper, it has been a pleasure. Thanks for the books!” He lifted the bag in a show of thanks.

Molly’s heart had skipped a beat when he’d said her name (she couldn’t deny the crush she had on the handsome man) but pushed away the feeling. Why would he ever be interested in someone like her?

Molly stared down at the notes in her hand as she popped open the cash drawer and separated them out. As she counted, a small piece of paper slipped out and drifted to the floor. She frowned as she bent to pick it up. When she turned it over, she couldn’t believe her eyes at the untidy scrawl she saw there.

 

**Forgive my being shy and simply giving you a note. I’m not the best at this. Anyway, I’d like to take you out to coffee sometime. Maybe we can talk writing and literature?**

**John Watson**

**p.s. books-are-my-besties**

 

Molly opened the folded paper and found a number on the inside, obviously to his mobile. As the initial shock wore off, she realized that her favorite fanfiction author was also her favorite author who was also her favorite publisher. She did a quick search; she knew that he had given her kudos before but couldn’t remember on which ones. As she scrolled through the list, she saw that he had liked almost every single one of her works and had bookmarked many of them. _Guess I don’t need to worry about him not liking my work._ If she didn't have the proof right in front of her, she would have called herself crazy. She thought it over for a minute before pulling out her own mobile and typing out a text.

 

**I’d love to. Does Saturday at 2 work? There’s a little shop a few places down from my store.**

**— words-spring-eternal**

 

Molly’s finger hovered for half a second over the send button, before finally giving in. She barely had time to set her phone back down when the text alert chimed. With equal amounts of excitement and trepidation, she opened the message.

 

**That would be lovely :)**

 

She smiled, thinking about a reply that might get a conversation going, when there was a second chime.

 

**BTW, I can’t wait for the next chapter of your current WIP. It really is brilliant!**

 

Her grin got even wider and she typed out her thanks, grateful for the fact that he couldn't see the flush creeping across her cheeks. She may not know much yet about John besides what was plastered all over the internet, but she had a feeling she was really going to like him.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, kudos, or constructive criticism are always appreciated! 
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://yourdykeinshiningarmor.tumblr.com/)


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